Quality education often eludes South African learners from poverty-
stricken environments. There are, however, some notable
exceptions. This article looks at how quality education based on
social capital is provided to the poor. The author reports on a
qualitative investigation based on both focus group and
individual interviews conducted at a resource-poor KwaZulu-
Natal school serving learners from Grade R to 9. The findings
show that quality education at the research site relates to the
moral agency of the school principal and teaching staff.
Through their ethics of being and doing, the school principal
and teaching staff ensure that sufficient resources, sound
home-school relations, and a high premium on moral values
result in a receptive learner corps. This environment encourages
these learners to act with diligence, honesty, politeness,
respect and service to the community. The findings contribute
to research that maintains that quality education is indicative of
the school principal and teachers‟ ethics of being and of doing.